Monday, July 23, 2007

15. The Fewer-Less Mess

Hey, Grammar Bloggers! How are you all doing in this sizzling heat? What we need around here in Columbus County right now is a real frog strangler, but, so far, no luck.

Okay, to help pass the time today we'll take a look at a grammar problem suggested by one of my former English students (and a very good one at that!) who is also an English major. One of his pet peeves is the misuse of FEWER and LESS, especially seen in grocery store signs advertising items for sale, but most certainly not exclusively there.

So what is the problem with these two adjectives? It seems that FEWER and LESS are often used interchangeably when they should not be. Here's a very simple way to get this straight once and for all:

Simply put, FEWER should be used when you are referring to nouns that can be counted or that name a number of SEPARATE objects and are PLURAL. An example is shown here:

Buy FEWER apples than you did last week. (It would be easy to count the apples--whether there are two or twenty, so FEWER is correct. Also notice that apples are separate objects and they are referred to in the PLURAL form.)

LESS should be used when you are referring to nouns that cannot be counted easily or that name a WHOLE collection, quantity, or group and are referred to in the SINGULAR form. An example of this use is shown here:

We cooked LESS rice last night than we did the night before. (Here, counting the rice would be pretty hard to do. We are referring to a WHOLE "quantity" of rice and notice that the word RICE is SINGULAR.)

Pretty easy, huh? Let's see how well you do with the following sentences:

(1) The rent was (fewer, less) than $400.

(2) Grandpa tells (fewer, less) funny stories than Grandma.

(3) Our new neighborhood has (fewer, less) children than our old one had.

In sentences 1 and 5, LESS is correct because the rent and money are being referred to as a group or quantity, and both nouns are SINGULAR.

In sentences 2,3, and 4 the opposite is happening. The stories, children, and weeds can be counted, (although it's true that it might be a little difficult to count the weeds--especially in my yard). Notice, though, that all three nouns are plural. Therefore, the correct answer is FEWER. This is a great way to double check the use if you have any questions.

Okay, I'm signing off for today. Enjoy your week and thanks a bunch for visiting. GG

1 comment:

I've always remembered the distinction using the concept of measurement and counting. Countable items use "fewer" whereas measurable items use "less". So, when I need to decide which to use, do I measure apples or count apples? Do I measure children or count children? For more abstract cases though, it can be tough. For example, one can count money, but typically, one is actually measuring the amount of money.

Have you ever wondered who the Grammar Guide is?
We've got the answer. :o)
She's a lifelong educator, an English expert (chuckle...she'd say not, but we know she is). Her name is Sara Cartrette, and she taught high school English for a total of 34 years (25 at Whiteville High School, her own alma mater :-) Her heart is in the South, so the blog entries will have a Southern flavor. Become a grammar star...visit often, and enjoy!

Have you ever wondered who the Grammar Guide is?
We've got the answer. :o)
She's a lifelong educator, an English expert (chuckle...she'd say not, but we know she is). Her name is Sara Cartrette, and she taught high school English for a total of 34 years (25 at Whiteville High School, her own alma mater :-) Her heart is in the South, so the blog entries will have a Southern flavor. Become a grammar star...visit often, and enjoy!

About Me

This is a weekly grammar blog meant to be an interactive forum where people can discuss some of the facets of Standard English....Southern style. ** Note: Being able to blog using this free site is great. However, I have formatting limitations; so for now - on my computers - I'm not getting to use bold, italics, indenting, etc. Thanks for your patience and flexibility. I'll just use capitalized letters and other options (that may be less than ideal grammatically) unless/until I discover other ways to format. ** One last note -- we all make mistakes from time to time, so don't be surprised to read about something you have been saying and didn't realize was an error. Sometimes we've heard and seen certain mistakes so often we just automatically absorb them without thinking. The writer of this blog makes errors, too, so if you notice one, don't hesitate to let me know. If what you say is correct, I'll make the appropriate change. If I disagree with you, I'll be polite and explain why.